We are in a time of rapid global change. Habitat loss and degradation has occurred for thousands of years, but climate change is a relatively new stressor. A critical question for ecologists and conservational biologists at this juncture in history is:

Which species are most at risk of extinction?

We can broadly define species as specialist or generalist species. A specialist species occupies a narrow niche in order to benefit from otherwise unused resources and space. A generalist species occupies a much broader niche, benefitting from the flexibility in resource and space requirements. The specialist species "strategy" is successful in times of environmental stasis, but challenging, if not deadly, in times of rapid environmental change. It is for this reason that specialist species worldwide are declining at rapid rates.

Tidal marsh birds are specialist species that nest on the ground in a habitat that regularly floods. They are adapted to these conditions, but sea level rise presents a problem. Marshes are getting flooded more frequently and in greater magnitude.

1. What is the variation in nest structure characteristics within and among species?

2. What nest structure characteristics constrain eggs from flooding out during high tide events?

​Avian eggs float towards the end of incubation. Since tidal marshes regularly flood, tidal marsh bird eggs often flood out of nests during peak high tides. To study whether nest structure traits constrain eggs from flooding out of nests (question #2), I will be artificially flooding inactive nests. I will use 3D printed eggs that mimic the size, shape, and mass that float like that species' eggs towards the end of incubation.

Behavioral responses to nest flooding

​These species exhibit a variety of behaviors when nest flooding events occur. It is unknown whether these behaviors reduce nest failure risk during nest flooding events. Therefore, I seek to answer the following questions:

How do tidal marsh bird specialists respond to nest flooding events?

Do these behaviors influence nest fate?

Is the frequency of specialized behaviors associated with degree of habitat specialism?

Does tide height impact avian response to nest flooding?

Does the frequency of each species’ nests’ flooding related to the number of plastic responses it exhibits to nest flooding?

I am using infrared radiation augmented camera systems to record the responses of chicks and adults to nest flooding.

Studying the behaviors each species exhibits in response to nest flooding leads to other questions, such as:​

Does chick climbing in response to nest flooding vary within and among age ranges?

To what degree (how high) can chicks climb in response to nest flooding?

I plan to test these questions by artificially flooding mock nests to determine how high chicks climb within age ranges to avoid drowning due to nest flooding.

​The final questions this leads to is:

How does pelvic ossification vary within and among age ranges?

If chicks have the capacity to climb during nest flooding events, do they always climb when experiencing that disturbance?

Thank you to...

Funding

The UCONN EEB Zoology Award courtesy of:The Francis Rice Trainor Endowment Fund to the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biologyand the Connecticut State Museum of Natural History

The UCONN EEB Zoology Award courtesy of:The George Clark, Jr. Fund and the Manter Fund to the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biologyand the Connecticut State Museum of Natural History